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I am always looking for ways to use up and re-purpose those old shirts in the closet.

But this time, I saw some knit shirts at Old Navy in the Women’s section that were about $2 on clearance. (Buy the biggest sizes they have to get the most fabric.) The fabric was a nice and light knit and they came in a variety of colors and prints……….making the perfect fabric for a little springy/summery skirt.

$2 plus a little adjusting? Perfect.

So keep that in mind while browsing the racks at the store. Sometimes it’s hard to find a great knit at the fabric store for cheap…….so look at those discounted clothes on the clothing racks.

And because the bottom seam was already there……all I needed to do was put in a waistband.

And what is more comfy than a Yoga style waist band? Nothing.

The tall waistband is folded over for a comfy fit.

It’s the perfect little skirt for spinning,

dancing,

and enjoying the nice weather.

. ..

Wear it with or without leggings(especially if your little girl insists on a skirt each day)……any time of year.

Would you like to make your own?.

As noted above, I bought this shirt for $2 on the clearance rack at Old Navy.

But dig through those closets and see what you already have on hand.

Depending on what size you’re making, cut the bottom section of the shirt off. This will be the main section of the skirt. And remember, the bottom hem of the shirt will be the new bottom hem of the skirt……so don’t cut it off.

My little girl wears about a 4T in skirts, so I measured 9 inches up from the bottom of the shirt and cut it off.

Then, if you have enough fabric left on the shirt cut out a piece that’s big enough for the yoga band. Mine came from the back of the shirt. (If not, use some fabric from a different shirt or some knit fabric from your scrap pile.) My waist band piece was 20 inches wide x 9 inches tall……..but if I had more fabric, I would have made it about 20 x 11 inches. Just to give the waistband more height. Because I love an even taller/adjustable waist band.

Then fold this piece in half lengthwise and sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance along the two shorter ends, creating a tube. (I used a serger but if you’re using a sewing machine, use a zig-zag stitch or a knit freindly stitch. Need help with knits? Click here for more info.)

Then turn your tube right side out and fold the tube down inside itself in half, keeping the right side of the fabric on the outside.

Then gather up the top raw edge of the bottom section of the skirt. Make your basting stitch about 1/2 inch from the top. (Need help with gathering? Click here.) Gather in the skirt so that it’s the same width as your band that you just folded in half.

Fold the band down over the top of the gathered section and pin this section evenly in place. Don’t stretch it as you’re pinning.

Make sure you are pinning the raw edge of the skirt with the 2 raw edges of the folded band. The actual fold of the band is at the other end of the band……….shown in the upper left side of the image below.

Now, serge or zig-zag those layers together (3 layers in all), using a 1/2 inch seam allowance…….all the way around the skirt. If your basting stitch happens to be showing, pull on those threads to remove them.

Then iron/steam that seam flat……along with the upper fold of the band. (And if you had just a bit of stretching while sewing the layers together in the last step, steaming will help shrink it back down a bit. But if it was over-stretched, you may have to pick it out and try again. Or if it just keeps stretching out and the waist band is too big……….make your band a bit smaller and then adjust the gathering as well. That should take care of it.)

now i just have to have girls. there's only so much fabric i can buy for my 8+ nieces (without my husband getting mad) and my boys always ask me why i'm making so many skirts!! cute skirt…i'm sure i'll be making one for my nieces this summer!!

Thanks to you, I'm getting a little braver about buying things from the clearance rack. I made my daughter the most adorable sweater dress (as per your tutorial!) from a sweater I got for $2.50 at Target. Now it looks like I need to find some big knit shirts, too…

I'm with one of the previous posters. I live in NC and it gets HOT in the summer. I want a cute knit skirt…where's the adult tutorial ;) As an avid clearance shopper, I love the idea of using the fabric for something else! (And usually the sizes left are XS and XXL-so I'll be looking throught the XXL sizes now!)

This is fabulous and so simple! I never would have thought to do this. I off to raid my closet and plan to make some of these for my granddaughter. Thanks so much for the tutorial and most of all for the idea.

I just saw your comment on my blog and answered it on my blog…but I also wanted to come on over to your space…and I've been here before! I know that I followed a link to a link to a link one time and visited your blog. You really do share some great things. In fact, I want this skirt, this very skirt in my size!

Ashley, I know this is bad timing because you just had your baby, but I'm planning on getting pregnant again soon and have been contemplating making regular pants into maternity pants. I was thinking that doing something like this, attaching a tall, stretchy waistband with some thick elastic in it to the (cut-off?) top of regular jeans or pants might work. But I'm not good at figuring things out like you are. Would you like to figure it out for me? :) Anyway, if you have any advice, I would sure appreciate it!

And thank you for the post about maternity bands, I'm excited about making some soon! AND CONGRATULATIONS on your sweet baby!

You won't believe what I did! I made this skirt and did a really good job on it– just one thing– I forgot to turn the sides together, so when I finished the projects I had the band on right and the skirt was wrong side out!!! Oh well, I will run some fabric or ribbon down that ugly seam and call it a racing strip!!! LOL

Very cute! I have a daughter that wears a size 6. I don't have tons of sewing experience, so I'm curious how I should size your projects for her. I don't get along with that stuff called "math", so I'm doubtful I could work it all out for myself! :)Any chance you can do a tutorial on how to decide the measurements for older/younger children? Or maybe you can point me to the right place if you've already done so.Thanks for the great ideas!!

want to say thank you for the tutorial. I bought myself a tshirt few weeks back got home tried it on and it was too small.. i was thinking well i could just put it in an opshop bag and then i remembered this tutorial. I did sacrifice another old tshirt for the waist band as i needed more length for my tall girl. I am ever so proud of myself for actually making my beautiful girl a skirt as normally im a straight stitch sewer and i managed to work with knits!!

Great Tip: I got a turtleneck shirt from Old Navy clearance rack today for 75 cents. I used the neck part of the shirt for the waistband so it was already made. I just had to cut off the bottom of the shirt, gather it, and sew it together. So simple.

Brilliant! So simple and a great way to get bargain stretch fabric, which believe me is hard to find. I’ll be trawling through those sale bins/racks from now on. Thanks for the idea. And a gorgeous skirt too – think my daughter will be getting a new skirt soon!

Thanks for this tutorial! I know it was a posted a long time ago, but I have been saving it for when I got a sewing machine, and that was today! I just made a cute shirt for my little 4T and can’t wait for her to wake up from a nap and try it on. Thanks for all the advice – i love your blog!

Did you dye the shirt blue? In the first few pictures it looks like the lighter stripes are cream, but it’s very blue in the rest of the pictures. If you did dye it, that’s brilliant! lol I can’t look at fabric and picture it as anything but how it comes to me. I really hope that I can develop that when I get a little more experience, because I am just starting out and I’ve made 3 of your projects already and tried others, but yours are the only one’s I’ve been successful at.

Happened to be strolling through the internet and found this wonderful site.
I loved his work and like you, I love to customize clothes for my children.
I live in Brazil and was looking for exactly what I found here.
A big hug for you and your family

I have been trying this all week. I finally accomplished it on some moisture wicking athletic fabric, and it worked perfectly! I’m glad I finally got it right, because I love this idea and I love this skirt (I made it for an adult by the way)

Thank you. This inspired a lovely twist: a tie-dyed shirt provided the skirt, and the solid dark blue provided the waist, which also got a couple decorative buttons. Even made a matching hat out the remnants.

Thank you for this! I’m a total beginner sewer and even some of the “simple” tutorials I’ve found are over my head…this one wasn’t – your instructions couldn’t be more clear, & the pictures & links were great too. I made my girls a couple of these in an hour! Next I’m going to try one for me :)